Brenda Bowen

A sparkling summer debut of love and reawakening that transports the classicThe Enchanted April to a picture-perfect island in Maine It's a rainy summer in Park Slope, Brooklyn, when two unhappily married women, Lottie Wilkinson and Rose Arbuthnot, spot a tattered ad on their children's preschool bulletin board: Hopewell Cottage Little Lost Island, Maine. Old pretty cottage to rent Spring water, blueberries, sea glass. August. Neither can afford it, but they are smitten. To share expenses, they find two companions: Caroline Dester, the exquisite darling of the independent movie scene, and elderly Beverly Fisher, who is recovering from heartbreaking loss. Transformed by the refreshing summer breezes, steamed lobsters, and cocktail hours on the wrap-around porch, the unlikely quartet gradually begin to open up to one another, and ultimately rediscover their capacity to love and be loved. With a cast of quirky and endearing characters set against the beauty of an idyllic New England summer,Enchanted August brilliantly updates a beloved classic and offers readers a universal fantasy: one glorious summer month away from it all.

Enchanted August

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'Brenda Bowen's Enchanted August is a perfect summer read - for any time of the year' Everyone needs a place like Hopewell Cottage - a romantic holiday rental on a small, sunny island. For Rose and Lottie, it's a refuge from the frenzy of the school gates. For Beverly, it's a chance to say goodbye to two lost loves. And for disgraced movie star Caroline, it offers the anonymity she craves. But on tiny Little Lost Island, with its cocktail parties, tennis matches and Ladies' Association for Beautification, will they really find the answers to their very modern problems? 'Delightful... I'm dreaming of blueberries and Maine lobster. We all need a sunny island or castle to which we can run away' Helen Simonson, author of MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND

« À louer : cottage sur une petite île du Maine. Eau de source, jardin fleuri, face à l’océan. » La petite annonce séduit immédiatement Lottie et Rose. Ces deux mères de famille new-yorkaises ont envie d’aller se ressourcer loin de la ville étouffante et du train-train quotidien. Le mois d’août sera une parenthèse ensoleillée. Sur l’île, elles retrouvent deux autres personnes qu’elles ne connaissent pas avec qui elles partagent les frais de location : une actrice trop stressée et un homme tentant de se remettre de la perte d’un être cher. L'air marin, le panorama sur l’océan, les longues journées au soleil, les cocktails sur la terrasse... la vraie vie s’éloigne et le bonheur naît. Sur cette île idyllique, les vacanciers se découvrent peu à peu. Ils vont, ensemble, réinventer leurs existences. Et en seront transformés à jamais... Un été enchanteur. Quatre amis. Et si le bonheur pouvait durer ?

Un été pour tout changer

“A charming, thoroughly engrossing novel that’s the next best thing to being there.” —People Magazine Hopewell Cottage Little Lost Island, Maine. Old, pretty cottage to rent on a small island. Springwater, blueberries, sea glass. August. So reads an ad on Lottie Wilkes’ and Rose Arbuthnot’s children’s preschool bulletin board. When the mothers arrive on the island, they are transformed by the salt air; the breathtaking views; the long, lazy days; and the happy routine of lobster, corn, and cocktails on the wraparound porch. By the time of the late-August blue moon, real life and its complications have finally fallen far, far away. For on this idyllic island they gradually begin to open up: to one another and to the possibilities of lives quite different from the ones they’ve been leading. Change can’t be that hard, can it? With a cast of endearingly imperfect characters—including indie movie star Caroline Dester and an elderly Beverly Fisher, who is recovering from heartbreaking loss—and set against the beauty of a gorgeous New England summer, Enchanted August is a sparkling summer debut that brilliantly updates the beloved classic The Enchanted April in a novel of love and reawakening that is simply irresistible.

Brenda Bowen

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